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trouvaille's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
So many of these poems are amazing. And so many of them are just kinda pervy. I've looked past his weird fascination on women because his takes on war are amazing. He loved a crazy life. But a man I would never want to meet
maeclegg's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
percymylove's review
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
laura_trap's review against another edition
4.0
Jaroslav Seifert brings me back to my favorite city in the world: Prague. He brings the streets and the river and the parks and the castle and the churches to such vivid life, it's like I never left when I read these poems. He also has such a tender way with words, bringing to life such beautiful, simple, domestic moments, and these simple moments are the weight to bring down lofty themes of love, suffering, guilt, beauty. In fact, Jaroslav is obsessed with beauty, with women's beauty - through the twist of a wrist, a smile, the way the hair falls over the shoulder. He lived in Prague through some of its painful times of the twentieth century and through his poetry he brings those upheavals, those sufferings to life. He mourns over the Holocaust, feels intense guilt over the pain of his Jewish neighbors, over the destruction of the Kralupy. He revels in love, in beauty, in the greatness and splendor of his ancient city, Prague. Some of his poems were so sensuous and languid, invoking memories of young love and the desperation of it, the flames of a single touch. The line in 'Lost Paradise':
"There is no time without murder"
is absolutely heart wrenching and poignant, and clearly embodies the hopelessness of so many after the end of World War II and the despair that was a pall over so much of Eastern Europe. I was deeply moved and impressed with so much of his poetry - for the duality of it, the homage to such beautiful things and to suffering, that these poems embodied a sense of freedom and memory. I really did love so many of them.
My one issue came to the pieces at the end of the collection and were his reminisces. I suppose I realized that his view on women, while shaped during the early twentieth century, is a bit more idealized rather than real. Women and beauty are ideals to which he worships and in turn, women are more dehumanized, turned into objects of desire and beauty and art rather than humans with emotions and needs and complexities. It reshaped my perceptions of his poems after I read those pieces. Nonetheless, I very much enjoyed this collection and hope to see more of his work translated into English.
"There is no time without murder"
is absolutely heart wrenching and poignant, and clearly embodies the hopelessness of so many after the end of World War II and the despair that was a pall over so much of Eastern Europe. I was deeply moved and impressed with so much of his poetry - for the duality of it, the homage to such beautiful things and to suffering, that these poems embodied a sense of freedom and memory. I really did love so many of them.
My one issue came to the pieces at the end of the collection and were his reminisces. I suppose I realized that his view on women, while shaped during the early twentieth century, is a bit more idealized rather than real. Women and beauty are ideals to which he worships and in turn, women are more dehumanized, turned into objects of desire and beauty and art rather than humans with emotions and needs and complexities. It reshaped my perceptions of his poems after I read those pieces. Nonetheless, I very much enjoyed this collection and hope to see more of his work translated into English.
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